


Don't Lose My Number

by SomethingAboutAMagpie



Series: Harringrove Ficlets [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M, song inspired fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 14:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14167179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomethingAboutAMagpie/pseuds/SomethingAboutAMagpie
Summary: Inspired by Phil Collin's 'Don't Lose My Number'. Billy's under investigation when he disappears, and Steve will do anything to clear his name. Prompted on Tumblr.





	Don't Lose My Number

It was all a misunderstanding.

Steve knew that.

He knew that Billy hadn’t hurt anyone.

But how do you explain that to a bunch of cops that hadn’t been a part of of the hell that was the Hawkins Lab and everything involved?

All they knew was that a woman was dead, and Billy’s blood had been at the scene.

What they didn’t know, what they could never understand, was that Billy had tried to  _ save _ her. That the damn demodog had taken a bite of his hand when he swung his axe. That the girl was already dead before he’d gotten to her.

But that didn’t seem to matter. Even Hopper couldn’t get the damn city cops off his back, and it hadn’t helped that Billy up and disappeared as soon as the article hit the paper.

Even Steve didn’t know where he’d run off to, and that was troubling.

Billy knew that, with his reputation, they would be on him faster than a fly on shit. And he’d taken off in the middle of the night.

Worried sick, Steve had tried to keep his head straight. He’d thrown himself into helping Hopper keep things covered up, to keep the cops off of the trail of the flower-faced monstrosities.

He only wished that he knew where Billy had disappeared to, if he was safe.

It was nearly midnight when the phone in Steve’s house went off, and he had to thank all that was holy that his parents weren’t home from their trip. When he picked up the receiver, though, it was silent, except for soft breathing.

“Hello? Hey, this isn’t funny,” Steve rolled his eyes. “Dustin, if this is you, it’s a school night. Go to bed.”

“ _ Steve _ ,” came the hushed response, a voice Steve could recognize anywhere.

“Billy?”

A quiet chuckle came over the call. “Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants,” his response was teasing, light, everything that it shouldn’t be in the circumstances.

“Where are you?” Steve murmured, sinking into his father’s armchair. “Billy, we’re all looking for you. The fucking  _ cops _ have a warrant out for you,” he swallowed hard. “We know you didn’t do it. Hop knows you didn’t do it. He’s doing his best to help, but you...you need to come back.”

“Uh-uh, not doing that,” Billy was still quiet, obviously trying to keep from being overheard. “I know this song and dance, Steve. I know that, if they catch me, they’re gonna pin it on me. I’m not letting them put me in jail for something I didn’t do.”

Steve let out a sigh. “Billy...please, we can help you.”

“I’m halfway to California,” Billy responded, swallowing audibly. “I...I can’t come back, Steve. I can’t take the chance. I don’t want you to come after me, not now, but...but I’ll call you when I get in. Keep me updated, okay? I need to go.”

“Billy, wait!” But the line was already dead. Steve hung up the receiver with a deep sigh and put his head in his hands. He felt more determined than ever to clear Billy’s name.

It took weeks, almost a month, for Hop to get the case closed, finally get the out of town cops to leave.

A wild animal, they finally decided. Axe and fingerprints and Billy Hargrove’s fucking  _ blood _ be damned. And he’d been getting calls, once a week, quick updates that Billy was safe, that he was with friends, that he wouldn’t let Steve come after him.

It was the last call, the night after the cops finally fled, that set Steve soaring. When he could finally tell Billy that he was safe, that he could come back to Hawkins.

Except Billy didn’t want to come back. He didn’t want to return to the place where those damn  _ creatures _ could get him.

But that didn’t stop him from giving Steve an address.

Didn’t stop Steve from driving halfway across the country.

Didn’t stop Billy from gathering the other boy up in his arms outside a run down apartment building and kissing him for all he was worth.

Because, even after everything, Steve loved Billy Hargrove, and Billy Hargrove loved Steve back.


End file.
